Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Fwd: The unique inimitability of the Arabic Koran

(The following sections demonstrate the inimitability of the Arabic Quran.Because this reference is presented for the English seeker, it follows that theQuranic texts have been rendered into English. It is important that one shouldbe aware that he/she cannot even begin to savor the real taste of thecompelling beauty of the Arabic Quran with all its facets, let alone its fineriesbecause the English quotations merely endeavor to present an understandingof its meaning because even the most eloquent composition of the Englishlanguage is not rich enough to do justice to the Words of Allah.)

The Arabic Quran has numerous facets which are impossible to imitate. Toillustrate the inimitability of these aspects they have placed in four categories.The first aspect illustrates the excellence of the composition of the Quran, thejoining together of the structure of its words and the purity of its Arabic becauseits eloquence is far beyond the reach and capability of even the most adepttongue of any Arab.

Allah blessed the Arab nation with a natural gift of language. At the time theHoly Quran was revealed, the Arabs had mastered its linguistic expressions. Itseloquence and exact meaning surpassed that of any nation and had at thattime reached its pinnacle of excellence. The language had the capability oftouching the very depths of one's heart. To the Arab it was a naturalphenomena and part of their character. They wrote poetry that was powerfuland arousing, sometimes it was used to praise, at others defame. Such poetrywas used to present requests and their like, or to elevate or degrade a matter.Their mastery had reached such a high level that even the intelligent could bedeceived, they also used it as a tool to heal longstanding tribal feuds, incite thecoward to acts of bravery, persuade the miser to be generous, make theimperfect perfect and debase society's elite so that they became of littlestanding.

The Arabic language was most rich in expression among the Bedouin whoused it in not only in a decisive, rational way but with a superb usage of clarity,and powerful manner. The town-dweller was also skilful in its eloquence, andable to express himself splendidly with just a few words. Both walks of life werecapable of expressing matters in an effective and convincing manner that gavethem the sharper edge and opened the way. Eloquence was the tool of theirleadership, they were capable of speaking on both significant and insignificantsubjects, they were indeed masters of expression and exercised words of rareusages. As for their prose and poetry there were many festivals to which peoplefrom distant areas would travel to contend or simply listen and enjoy.None but a Messenger from Allah could have caused their wonderment at theQuran's eloquent, truthful, purposeful composition.

Allah says, "Falsehood doesnot come to it from before it or from behind it. It is a sending down from theOne, the Wise, the Praised." 41:42.

Both its verses and words are exact,distinguished and eloquent. The purity of the Arabic Quran surpasses everyother form of Arabic with its conquering conciseness and inimitability. In it onediscovers the articulation of both unvarnished and metaphorical verses, all ofwhich vie with one another in beauty. One also finds in its succinctness newexpressions that outperform others in their clarity. The excellence of itscomposition is balanced by its succinctness, and its expressions conveynumerous meanings.Of the stubborn unbelievers who refused to acknowledge the Quran was andstill is far superior and surpasses the composition of all the greatest Araborators,

Allah says and challenges, "Do they say, 'He has forged it?' Say,'Compose one chapter like it, and call upon whom you will, other than Allah (tohelp you), if what you say is true!'" 10:38. And, "If you are in doubt of what Wehave sent down to Our worshiper (Prophet Muhammad), produce a chaptercomparable to it. Call upon your helpers, other than Allah, to assist you, if youare true. But if you fail, as you are sure to fail then guard yourselves against theFire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the unbelievers." 2:24-25.

Also, "Say, 'If mankind and jinn combined together to produce the like of thisQuran, they would never be able to produce one like it, not even if they were tohelp one another.'" 17:88. And, "Then produce ten forged chapters like it."11.13

It is easy to take the words or ideas of another and present them as one's ownrather than to originate. Writing something that is false or fabricated is muchsimpler, whereas when one strives to compose something that has a soundmeaning it is difficult, hence the phrase, "So-and-so writes as he is told, but soandso writes as he wants". Between the first and the second there is a hugegulf, and the first is better than the second.Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, always held the wellbeingof his nation at heart, and for their own good he never gave up in hisrebuke of those who refused to believe. He would rebuke and warn them in theharshest, most compelling manner. He referred to their dreams as being foolishand did not honor their chieftains. The structure of their society becameshattered by his teachings, both the unbelievers and their false deities werecensured, and their homes and property were later on confiscated. But still insupport of their stance, they shied away from taking the challenge to produceeven one single verse to rival the Koran, they simply deceived themselvesthrough the rejection of the Words of Allah.

Allah quotes the rebuke of the unbelievers, "Are we to follow a mortal who isone of us? Then indeed, we would surely be in error and insane." 54:24. And"This is but a falsehood he has forged – another nation has helped him.' 25:4.Or, "He has written tales of the ancients." 25:5. They lied and satisfied themselves in their self-deceit. Allah describes the unbelievers with their saying "Our hearts are covered." 2:88.

And, "Our hearts are veiled from that to whichyou call us, and in our ears there is heaviness, and between us and you is aveil." 41:5. And He refers to the contempt of the unbelievers who said, "Do notlisten to this KQuran, and talk idly about it so that you might be overcome."41:26.

The arrogant audacity of the unbelievers is recorded in the Quran when theyclaimed, "If we wished, we could speak its like." 8:31. Allah informs them "youare sure to fail." 2:24. All contenders were rendered completely powerless,none were able to fulfill their presumptuous claim.During the life of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, therewas a man called Musaylima, who laid claim to the prophethood.

He attemptedto compose verses to rival the Quran but his errors were obvious and therebyhis status exposed, and Allah rendered his "fine" words to naught. Had it beenotherwise people might not well have realized that the Quran is far above theeloquence of their own expression of pure Arabic.Commenting upon the superlative eloquence of the verse in Arabic that reads,"Allah orders justice, and good deeds." 16:90,

Walid, Mughira's son said, "Iswear by Allah it has both sweetness and grace. The least of it is abundant andthe highest of it is fruitful, no human being could have said this."The eloquence of the verse "Proclaim then what you are commanded" 15:94penetrated the heart of a certain Bedouin whereupon he fell down prostrate andsaid, "I prostrated on account of its superlative Arabic." Upon another occasionanother Bedouin heard the verse "When they despaired of him, they went inprivate to confer together" 12:80, and said "I bear witness that no human iscapable of these words!"

One day, as the Caliph Omar, Khattab's son slept in the Mosque he wasawakened by a person standing by his head bearing witness to the Oneness ofAllah. Omar asked him who he was, whereupon the man told him that he was aByzantine general conversant with Arabic and several other languages. He toldhim that he had heard a Muslim who had been taken captive reciting the Koranwhereupon he reflected upon its words and realized it contained the samemessage that Allah had sent down about this world and the Hereafter toProphet Jesus, Mary's son.

The Words that touched him were "Those whoobey Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, and have awe of Him shall bethe winners." 24:52.

A serving girl was heard speaking eloquently, whereupon Al-Asmay said, "Whathas made you so eloquent?" But the girl replied, "Is what I said consideredeloquent after the Words of Allah, "We revealed this to Moses' mother, 'Sucklehim, but when you fear for him cast him into the water. Neither fear, nor sorrowbecause We shall restore him to you and make him among the Messengers.'"28:7.

This verse contains two commands, two prohibitions, and two pieces ofgood news coupled to together. Also the planning of Allah is made evident inthis verse as the casting of Moses into the water turns to be the cause of hissafety rather than its opposite.This inimitability of the Arabic Quran is unique and incomparable. This isbecause firstly, it is a well established fact that it was revealed to the Prophet,praise and peace be upon him, and that it is he who delivered it. Secondly, withit the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, challenged the Arabs and theywere rendered incapable of responding to the challenge.

We have drawn your attention to many aspects, volumes could be written portraying just a fraction of its benefits, each phrase contains many degrees of meaning, and an overflow of knowledge. Even lengthy narrations about previous generations and nations merge into one another, they are a sign for one to reflect upon the cohesion of its words, its presentation and how its various facets are put in balance, such as one finds in the story of Prophet Joseph. Many of these stories occur in different chapters of the Koran, yet the phrasing varies so much that story takes on a totally new light, which is part of its beauty. One is never averse to its constant repetition, nor yet disdainful to their hearing over and over again.